Hello again from Seoul, where Koreans are welcoming the end of many coronavirus restrictions.

One of the most significant changes is the rediscovery Hosick, Or dinner after get off work, usually includes a lot of barbecue and a lot of tension.

We will have to see if there will be a surge in foreign wine imports due to the pandemic trend Homesul with Honsur (Drinking at home, drinking alone), the curfew for night events will now be cancelled.

The start of the week will be about The failure of COP26 And the direction of U.S.-China relations when President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping Host a high-risk virtual summit.

But today’s trade secrets are looking forward to the Beijing Winter Olympics, which are only three months away.

We believe that because the government and corporate sponsors failed to raise sharp questions with China on the alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, the task (and risk) will soon fall on the athletes.

Concession waters Focus on the impact of energy in different countries on reducing emissions related to the use of electric vehicles.

When the government and sponsors remain silent, will the athletes speak?

A storm is gathering at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The suspected violations of human rights in Xinjiang have been labeled as crimes of genocide by the US government and crimes against humanity by many campaign groups.

More and more diplomats and dignitaries, as well as sponsors and broadcasters, are calling for a boycott of the Olympics, or at least publicly holding China accountable.

However, trade secrets believe that the government and sponsors will eventually avoid this issue.

Conversely, athletes are most likely to get people’s attention because of Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities.

In order to briefly review Xinjiang, in late October, 43 countries of the United Nations-including the United States and other G7 countries- Issue a joint statement Summarizing a credible report, “shows the existence of a large network of’political reeducation’ camps in which more than one million people have been arbitrarily detained.”

The statement went on to say: “We are seeing more and more reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations, including documents documenting torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, forced sterilization, sexual and gender-based violence, and coercion. Reports of being separated from others. Children.”

It added: “Freedom of religion or belief, freedom of movement, association and expression, and Uyghur culture are severely restricted. Extensive surveillance continues to target Uyghurs and members of other minorities disproportionately.”

more Damn account exist.

Considering Xinjiang, the Financial Times earlier this year Raised a question Does banning athletes from participating in Chinese competitions change the behavior of the Chinese government?Review sports such as sports boycotts Apartheid South AfricaThe newspaper’s editorial board pointed out that past boycotts were only effective if they were sustained and coordinated with broader international efforts.

For some people, using Beijing to host the Olympics to reconcile the situation in Xinjiang is not only immoral, but also unreasonable.

In June, an international group of cross-party legislators, the National Parliamentary Alliance on China, recommended the relocation of the Olympic Games. In September, activists from 200 different human rights organizations wrote to international broadcast networks, including the BBC, urging them to cancel the deal to broadcast sports events.

Last week, the US-based campaign organization Human Rights Watch said Its letters The biggest corporate sponsor of the Olympic Games asked companies to use their influence to resolve China’s human rights violations, but there was hardly any response.

At a press conference on Friday, Sophie Richardson, director of Human Rights Watch’s China Program, suggested that sponsors should be able to publish “strong human rights due diligence strategies” to justify their participation in the Olympics. But instead, she said, “The company seems to be more interested in desperately not having this kind of dialogue.”

For sponsors—including global brands such as Visa, Coca-Cola, Airbnb, Omega, and Samsung—and possibly broadcasters, China’s Olympics have caused some kind of double-loss.

Staying means that their brand will be linked to supporting the Chinese government. Withdrawing not only means losing business opportunities, but, perhaps even more ominously, risking political backlash and resistance from Chinese consumers.

Trade Secrets once wrote about the options for foreign companies if they find themselves in the sight of increasingly nationalistic Chinese shoppers. in conclusion: Seldom good.

To experience what such an episode might look like, don’t go further than actor John Cena “Apologize to China“After calling Taiwan a country in the promotional video, Fast and Furious 9. It’s not pretty.

But if human rights activists fail to force these companies to take action, what should be the next step? It seems that attention will soon fall on the athletes. In fact, Richardson pointed out that the situation facing athletes is “terrible.”

“They really have no choice. They either completely give up the opportunity to compete, or they say they don’t want to compete in such an environment,” she said.

Despite this sympathy, human rights activists will work hard to educate athletes on Xinjiang and China’s actions in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Taiwan in the coming months.

The risk of athletes speaking during the game is a serious and embarrassing issue for Beijing.

We are in an era of unparalleled radicalism.

NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick (Colin Kaepernick) four years later Kneel down in the American national anthem, High-profile international sporting events rarely sound at the opening whistle, buzzer or starting gun. No sign of protest.

Fans who also hope to be on the right side of history, look forward to it now.Similarly, the sponsor is Hope to stand behind Tennis star Naomi Osaka and other athletes often express opinions on difficult issues such as social justice and race.

But in Beijing, objections and protests are absolutely intolerable.

Any public criticism of international Olympians will bring shame to China and is likely to pay a high personal price.

If there is a protest — perhaps a statement at a press conference, or a banner that embarrass Xi Jinping or the government — politicians, diplomats, and sponsors who try to evade this issue this year may find themselves inevitably re-entered. This dispute.

Although this is not a perfect example, China’s treatment of Canada’s two Michaels—innocent men jailed for nearly three years and embroiled in a game of hostage diplomacy—does remind people of Beijing’s bets.And as We wrote for two months In the past, China under Xi Jinping might not care as much about the reputational damage caused by such international events as people imagined.

However, if the government, companies, or athletes did not make any comments about China’s treatment of Uighurs at the end of these Olympics, one might ask: Who really won?

Concession waters

Lex published an interesting note on Friday, studying whether electric cars Become greener.

The answer to this question largely depends on the extent to which clean energy is used to charge the battery. The graph shows that, due to their greater reliance on nuclear and wind energy, France and the United Kingdom are more effective in reducing emissions related to the use of electric vehicles than Germany and China, which use more coal. Claire Jones

Trade ties

China already defendant this I Threatening world trade, Beijing’s ambassador to the European Union accused it of imposing too many barriers and regulations on manufacturers.

Global manufacturers face another problem in their supply chain magnesium Spikes (Nikkei, $) and emphasized their vulnerability to policy shocks China, Accounting for 80% of world output.

Excellent Robert Armstrong survey No matter those bottleneck It is very important in its own right, or it is just an extremely high demand for goods.Harry Dempsey has one Great work About how High-end bicycle manufacturer Due to the above-mentioned bottlenecks, efforts are being made to complete the order.

The British “Financial Times” also has Special report Today at The future of logistics -Those who are worthy of in-depth understanding Supply chain barriers.

Australia already swear Support the United States to defend Taiwan from China’s influence.this I Yes Consider imposing Comprehensive sanctions were imposed on dozens of Belarusian officials, a Syrian airline and a Minsk hotel as part of measures to put pressure on the dictator’s leader Alexander Lukashenko Prevent immigrants from flowing into European borders.

Singapore National Investor Temasek Temporarily suspend new investment Chinese technology company Due to Beijing’s uncertainty in cracking down on the industry, its chief strategist Tell Nikkei Asia Index (USD). Francis Carregalado and Claire Jones